Image: B.Plank – imbilde.at
Philipp Zallinger from Mehrnbach and Lukas Gahleitner from Schärding took category wins combined with prize money of 1500 euros each, Martin Daxecker from Schalchen took third place.
The 25-year-old mechanical engineering graduate Philipp Zallinger won first place in the Technology/Automation & Mechatronics category for developing a method for estimating material properties that allows non-contact, large-area and, above all, non-destructive monitoring of components.
In the research project “Zero Defect Manufacturing for Thermodynamical Processes” The focus is on complex thermodynamic processes such as the curing of composite components. According to the researcher, the condition of the component can only be recorded inadequately, deviating initial and boundary conditions can only be compensated for by significant safety factors: These must be minimized in terms of energy and time. “With my master’s thesis I provide a method for estimating material properties based on thermography and data assimilation. With the approach chosen, an estimate is possible even if the direct relationship between temperature and parameter is unknown. In the thermography experiment, convective and photothermal excitations were used”, according to Zallinger. The developed method allows a non-contact, large-area and, above all, non-destructive monitoring of the components. In the future, the degree of curing of composite components should be continuously monitored during production. This enables a resource-optimized design of the processes.
First place in the Technology/Mechanical Engineering & Materials Technology category goes to 24-year-old Lukas Gahleitner from Schärding. The graduate of the master’s degree “Lightweight construction and composite materials” developed a non-contact system for the quality control of thermoplastic fiber-reinforced semi-finished products as part of his master’s thesis.
In the aviation and automotive industries, the use of lightweight components is increasing. In particular, composites with a thermoplastic matrix enable particularly efficient manufacturing processes. However, undesirable defects can occur during the production of semi-finished products. It is therefore necessary to develop a non-destructive industrial quality control process.
“In my master’s thesis, I developed an innovative and non-contact system for this purpose. This enables the detection and analysis of defective areas in thermoplastic fiber-reinforced semi-finished products. It is based on the principle of active infrared thermography. In particular, inexpensive and robust thermal detectors were used for this purpose, which make use in an industrial environment possible in the first place”says Gahleitner.
Source: Nachrichten
